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You would think with the existence of Rogue, we would have had all our bases covered with sneaky, shadowy, slippery class archetypes. But in Dungeons and Dragons, there is no one way to play an archetype. That is why this build exists.
This Way of Shadows Monk build is what I like to call the Shadow Ninja Build.
The Shadow Ninja Build
The Shadow Ninja build usesMonkandRogueto create a truly devastating, stealthy ambush attacker that can hit a bunch of times per turn. We take advantage of theStealth attackfromRogueandMonk’snatural ability to hit stuff a bunch of times and do a ton of damage per turn.
This is a nice build that complements a variety of teams because you may stick this in any party and you will not need too much gear to pull it off well. In fact, you will not really need gear at all. This build sees that gear is more of a cosmetic choice than a necessary part of our build, which is why I love to run it.
This build issolo-Tactician ready, and works really well forAstarionif you do not run it on your Tav.
Character Creation
When you are putting together your Monk, you should keep in mind that it is going to be a squishier class. Monks are great for damage, but being in melee range and having no armour to speak of, you should give yourself as much defensive edge as you can.
I likeHalf-Orcwith this class.Savage Attacksis nice to have because it will proc off your unarmed melee attacks, giving you additional damage to your hits. You also getRelentless Endurance, which basically keeps you standing once you hit0 HPinstead of goingdownedonce per long rest.
If you are not really concerned with defensiveness, you could goDrow. There are some fun Way of Shadow monk builds that can take advantage ofDrow’sproficiencies in rapiers. But, for the build, this guide will assume you are going to pickHalf-Orc.
Now you may be wondering – why notHalf-ElforWood Elffor the extra speed? Well, you will see soon.
Right out of the gate, Monk will get the actionFlurry of Blows. This is abonus actionthat usesKi Pointsand allows you to punch twice. You also get a bunch ofclass features, likeUnarmoured Defencewhich allows you to add yourWisdom modifierto yourarmour class– this is important, as it means that we will be building withwisdomas a secondary main stat. You will also getMartial Arts: Bonus Unarmed Strike– this is what will help us put out a ton of damage.
You do not get any choices for this level, so we can just move right on to your stats.
For this build, we dumpIntelligenceandCharisma. We do not need them to be powerhouses, but if you want to keep your Tav the main talker in the group, then you should consider droppingWisdomto15(14 + 1 Racial bonus) and raisingCharismato10for dialogue checks. Keep in mind thatHalf-OrcgetsIntimidationproficiency.
These stats give you the full benefit of an evenWisdomscore, while also keeping yourDexterityhigh enough that when youbeat the Hagand get her stat boost item, you will have18 Dexterityearly on.
Backgrounds
Pick anybackgroundyou like. If you want to lockpick with your Tav, pick one of thebackgroundsthat gives you a boost tosleight of hand. We have a full list ofbackgroundsover here:
Baldur’s Gate 3: Guide to Backgrounds
To know which background you should pick, there are a couple of things you should understand about backgrounds in general first.
At level 2, Monk will get anadditional Ki PointandUnarmoured Movement. Thisfeatureincreases ourmovement speedby10ftwhile not wearing armour. This is the reason we do not want to go toWood ElforHalf Elf. We do not need the racial boost to speed as a Monk.
We also get the following class actions:
At level 3 we get the ability to pick out subclass. We will, of course, be going withWay of Shadow. This will give us the ability to useHideas abonus action. You will also get the followingShadow Arts:
At level 4 we get yet anotherKi Pointand another class feature –Slow Fall. It lets you use a reaction to give youresistance to falling damageand does not make you fall slowly.
We also get to pick aFeat! PickAbility Improvementand put yourDexterityto19.
At this level, you can go andbeat up the Hagto get her hair, putting yourDexterityto20right away inAct 1. I recommend you do this as soon as you can, but level 4 is a nice level to get this done.
At level 5, we get ourextra attack. We will also getStunning Strike (Melee)andStunning Strike (Unarmed)– this gives us the ability tostunour targets.
We also getCloak of Shadows. This is anactionthat allows us to becomeinvisibleif we are obstructed and lasts for10 turns.
We also get an additionalKi Point, of course.
Would you believe that we get anotherKi Point?
We also getImproved Unarmoured Movementwhich gives ourmovement speedan increase to15ftinstead of10while we are not wearing armour. We will also getKi-Empowered Strikes, afeaturethat gives our unarmed attacks magical bonuses that overcome enemyresistancesandimmunitiesto non-magical damage.
We will also getShadow Step, which isMisty Stepbut cooler because it gives usadvantageon our nextmelee attack roll. It costs abonus action, and its only downside is that you need to already be a little obscured in order to use this.
We also getEvasion, which allows us to ignore the half-damage effects some spells have on a successfulDexterity saving throwif it is successful.
We also getStillness of Mind, which is casted automatically when our character becomesCharmedorFrightenedand will remove those conditions.
At level 8 we get our nextFeat. And aKi Point.
Truth be told, a lot of theFeatsare not incredibly useful in terms of damage now. you may goAbility Improvementto get the boost toConstitutionfor extra health. You could go withAlertto make sure you are at the top of theinitiativeroll, which will let you kill enemies before they can even attack you. Either is fine.
At this point, we will swap over toRogue. This will give us ourSneak Attacks, which work onunarmedattacks.
At level 10 we stick withRogue, and this gives us the ability to useDashandDisengageasCunning Actionsinstead ofShadow Arts. This allows us to keep ourKi Points.
Level 11 gives us the ability tosubclasswithRogue. We will pickThief, for theFast Hands feature. It allows us to do yet another attack with our off-hand because it gives usanother bonus action.
You will finish this build off with another level inRogue, and this will allow us to pick anotherFeat. you may pick the one that you did not pick at level 8 to make a nice, rounded build.
Side Note: Illithid Powers
You can take this build to the next level by usingIllithid Powers. If you are playing agood playthroughand want to limit your use ofIllithid Powers, they are not necessary. ButLuck of the Far Realmsis a niceIllithid Powerto get if you do feel like dabbling a little. You can see a full list ofIllithid Powersover here:
Baldur’s Gate 3: All Illithid Powers
These powers come with huge buffs to critical hits and damage, or grant you unique attacks that do Psychic damage, just to name a couple.
Final Gear
We do not wear too much by way of armour as Monks, so our gear options are pretty limited. Luckily, gear is entirely optional for us. My picks for this build are as follows:
Baldur’s Gate 3: OP Sword Bard Guide
This guide will show you how to turn your Bard into an absolute powerhouse of damage and carnage.
